Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form…: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVE-2026-3296 is a critical-severity deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability in Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder from Wpeverest, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder versions: 3.4.3 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 3.59% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 90% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wpeverest | Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder | 3.4.3 and earlier | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (wordfence.com).
Official description
The Everest Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.4.3 via deserialization of untrusted input from form entry metadata. This is due to the html-admin-page-entries-view.php file calling PHP's native unserialize() on stored entry meta values without passing the allowed_classes parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a serialized PHP object payload through any public Everest Forms form field. The payload survives sanitize_text_field() sanitization (serialization control characters are not stripped) and is stored in the wp_evf_entrymeta database table. When an administrator views entries or views an individual entry, the unsafe unserialize() call processes the stored data without class restrictions.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- If available, use the signing/sealing features of the programming language to assure that deserialized data has not been tainted. For example, a hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) could be used to ensure that data has not been modified.
- When deserializing data, populate a new object rather than just deserializing. The result is that the data flows through safe input validation and that the functions are safe.
- Explicitly define a final object() to prevent deserialization.
More Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerabilities (CWE-502)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/tags/3.4.3/includes/admin/views/html-admin-page-entries-view…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/tags/3.4.3/includes/evf-core-functions.php#L5594
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/everest-forms/trunk/includes/admin/views/html-admin-page-entries-view.php#…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/3489938/everest-forms/tags/3.4.4/readme.txt?old=3464753&old_path=everest…
- plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?old_path=/everest-forms/tags/3.4.3&new_path=/everest-forms/tags/3.4.4
- wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2693ae37-790d-4b18-a9ec-054c8c27b8bc?source=cve
Other vulnerabilities in Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder
- 8.1 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.2 High severity
Recent Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.3 High severity
Spotted an error? Tell us.